harrypotterfandomcom-20200223-history
Dirk Cresswell
, Slughorn says Cresswell was "in the year after" Lily Evans at Hogwarts School. Seeing that Lily's (born in 1960) first year was the 1971-1972 school year, Dirk's had to be the 1972-1973 school year and, thus, he was born in late 1960 or 1961. Great Britain or Ireland |died=March, 1998 (aged 37) Great Britain |blood=Muggle-born |marital=Married |alias= |title= |hidep= |species=Human |gender=Male |height= |hair=Brown |eyes= |skin=Light |hidef= |family=*Mrs Cresswell (wife) *More than one son |hidem=hide |animagus= |boggart= |wand= |patronus=Non-corporeal |hidea= |job=Head of the Goblin Liaison Office |house= |loyalty=*Ministry of Magic **Goblin Liaison Office *Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry **Slug Club }} Dirk Cresswell (c. 1961 – March, 1998) was a Muggle-born wizard. In the mid-1990s he became Head of the Goblin Liaison Office, in the Ministry of Magic. Dirk attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the 1970s, becoming a favourite student of Potions Master Horace Slughorn. One of Dirk's most notable traits was his fluency in Gobbledegook. After graduating, he went to work at the Ministry and eventually became Head of the Goblin Liaison Office. Many of his colleagues considered him a great wizard. When the Ministry was taken over by Lord Voldemort, Dirk attempted to use a forged family tree in order to claim wizarding heritage, but was discovered by Albert Runcorn. He went on the run to avoid the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, but was eventually caught and murdered by Snatchers. Biography Early life Dirk Cresswell was born sometime between September, 1960 and September, 1961, somewhere in the British Isles, into the Muggle Cresswell family. He showed magical abilities and, at the age of eleven, was invited to enrol at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which he did, having been Sorted on 1 September, 1972. Professor Horace Slughorn was his Potions Professor, and he considered Cresswell to be an exceptional student, inviting him to join the Slug Club. Career at the Ministry of Magic Sometime after graduating from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1979, Cresswell joined the Ministry of Magic. He eventually rose to the post of Head of the Goblin Liaison Office, succeeding Cuthbert Mockridge in either 1994, 1995, or 1996. He remained in contact with Professor Slughorn and passed on news about internal affairs at Gringotts Wizarding Bank to him, something of which Slughorn was glad of. Albus Dumbledore also suggested that Slughorn's friendliness with Cresswell resulted in Cresswell requesting him to make suggestions for possible junior members within the Goblin Liaison Office. Muggle-Born Registration Commission During the height of the Second Wizarding War, on 1 August, 1997, the Ministry of Magic was taken over by Lord Voldemort. Shortly after, it began persecuting Muggle-born wizards and witches, beginning with the formation of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission and the Snatchers organisations, in accordance with the Death Eater ideology. Muggle-borns were accused of having stolen magic and sentenced to Azkaban for it. drag a battered Dirk Cresswell across the Ministry Atrium]] Cresswell arranged with a wizard to forge a false family tree so that the Ministry would believe that he was of a different blood status. However, Albert Runcorn, a powerful Ministry official and supporter of the Death Eater regime, tracked the wizard who faked his family tree and Cresswell was arrested. While Death Eater-controlled and newly instated Minister Pius Thicknesse, alongside Dolores Umbridge, Yaxley, and Albert Runcorn, delivered a speech to the Ministry employees about the changes in Ministry policy, Snatchers arrived and dragged a battered and bruised Dirk Cresswell across the Atrium. Auror John Dawlish was charged with transporting Cresswell to Azkaban fortress in the North Sea, via broomstick. Halfway to the prison, Dirk managed to stun Dawlish, whom he believed to be under the effects of the Confundus Charm, and stole the Auror's broomstick, using it to escape. On the run Dirk then went on the run, eventually meeting up with fellow fugitives Ted Tonks and Dean Thomas, as well as goblins Griphook and Gornuk. The group proceeded to stay on the move along the countryside. One night, in the autumn of 1997, they set camp on a riverbank in Wales, where they could summon some salmon to eat. Unbeknownst to any of them, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger were sitting in a tent concealed by sight by a number of protective enchantments. The group started talking. Dirk told them of his escape. The subject of conversation turned into war and Harry Potter. Dirk told the group he had doubts Severus Snape had really killed Albus Dumbledore, as the Daily Prophet, which he had been reading, made such a strong case against Harry. Tonks told Cresswell to start reading The Quibbler, an independent publication not under the control of the Ministry, to know the facts. Cresswell exploded into laughter, swallowing a fish bone and expressing scorn at what he called "that lunatic rag of Xeno Lovegood's". They told Cresswell The Quibbler was not so lunatic any more, and Dean voiced his trust in Harry. The conversation soon enough turned into a discussion of whether they should sleep there or back up a wooded slope whence they came. Deciding the trees would give better cover, they extinguished their fire and clambered back up the incline. Death Eventually, the group was caught by a gang of Snatchers and Cresswell, Ted Tonks, and Gornuk were murdered while resisting capture. Griphook and Dean Thomas managed to escape relatively unscathed. Post-mortem The death of Dirk Cresswell and his comrades was omitted from the Daily Prophet and the Wizarding Wireless Network News, which were under the control of the Death Eater regime and ceased reporting deaths caused by Voldemort's regime. It was, however, announced in a March, 1998, broadcast of Potterwatch. Dirk left behind a wife and at least two sons. Etymology The name "Dirk" is the short form of Diederik. The name was popularised in the English-speaking world by actor Dirk Bogarde (1921-1999), who had some Dutch ancestry. This is also the Scots word for a type of dagger. Behind the scenes *Dirk Cresswell was played by Ricky Wilson, lead singer of the Kaiser Chiefs. His role was uncredited, and he was never identified in the film, but the character of Dirk Cresswell took on his appearance in . *Like Ted Tonks and Gornuk, Dirk Cresswell's on the run part was cut from the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, although all three are briefly mentioned on radio to have been killed. Appearances * * * * * Notes and references de:Dirk Cresswell es:Dirk Cresswell fr:Dirk Cresswell fi:Dirk Cresswell ru:Дирк Крессвелл pl:Dirk Cresswell sv:Dirk Cresswell Category:1960s births Category:1998 deaths Category:British individuals Dirk Category:Goblin Liaison Office personnel Category:Hogwarts students during the Marauders' era Category:Males Category:Muggle-borns Category:Murder victims Category:Second Wizarding War casualties Category:Slug Club Category:Sorted in 1972 Category:Unknown House Category:Wizards